Jackhawk

The large armoured death knight introduced himself as Leeda, the champion of the abyss, created by the gods of death. Zarkavon managed to magically halt the undead Fox, while the rest of the party took on Leeda. Narok shot out a web line and snatched away Leeda's sword, stuffing it safely into his bag of holding. Leeda didn't last very long. Zarkavon attempted to turn Fox into an undead slave, but Narok, horrified by the prospect of the souless remains of his former lover continuing to walk the earth, beheaded her in one quick swift stroke.

The portal was a puzzle to the Elans. Mercia asked Zarkavon to help them understand its nature and how to be rid of it. All that Zarkavon could tell them, fighting the overwhelming despair that emanated from the pit, is that the portal linked to the Abyss and that it could not be closed by any means possessed by mankind. While he studied the portal, he saw a large shadowy figure moving in the dimly lit pit, on the other side of the portal. He could hear a conversation: the voice of Balor .. the same voice they heard when they were tortured in Hell. Balor was berating one of his minions for his impatience, but the minion boldly stated "If you will not do something about these meddling mortals, then I shall take matters into my own hands.".

While Zarkavon listened to this, Narok madly jumped down into the pit. Narok landed on something slick with blood and moving and he also felt his very life force ebbing out of him, drawn into the surface upon which he landed. Before he could do anything but hold on, he felt a rush of air as he found himself suddenly rising back toward the entrance of the pit. With an explosion of rock and debris, a HUGE menacing terrifying demon violently exited the pit, with a tiny Narok desperately holding on atop the demon's antlered head. In the terrifying rush, the demon also swung his huge menacing sword and sliced one of the Elan in half.

Zarkavon, like most everyone else in The Egg, was thrown back by the force of this display. He immediately recognized the demon from some of the more hurried sketches strewn about his old master's lab (Daemiluz knew many things that no mortal should). The demon was a Death Drinker—one of the most powerful demons in The Abyss, so powerful, that it does not even owe any affiliation to the Tanar'ri. There is little else that he knew about it, except that, like most demons, it would be highly resistant to any magic.

Narok tried to stab the demon in his head, but was instead thrown to the ground.

The demon spoke in a loud menacing voice that shook The Egg and the fabric of their being: "I am Odomagon, made The Destroyer by the Black Heart of Orkoth. This world is doomed. You mortals will now die."

In desperation, Zarkavon cast one of the few spells he knew would not directly affect a creature, but could still do some harm, or at least buy them a bit of time or luck. There in The Egg of the Elan, Zarkavon took from his pouch a disgusting rotten egg, shouting "PUTRUS SHANKAR!" and threw the egg in the direction of the demon, pointing at its head. A disgusting cloud of green putrid mist surrounded the head of the Odomagon, obscurring vision. Unexpectedly, however, the death drinker began to wretch.

Akindus, the gold dragon, began to enter The Egg just in time for the whole chamber to burst with a flood of oozing fluid containing guts, intestine, bodies, and whole cadavers come flooding forth.

There ensued a heated battle where everyone in the chamber did their best to take advantage of the situation. By the end, Zarkavon had unleased another spell, a dark ray of entropic energy, weakening the demon further, while Ro hamstrung the beast, knocking him down to one knee.

Narok, despite the severe risks to himself when he teleported into the Shadow plane, did just that. This time, however, he did something entirely unexpected. Shadow was beaten! {need more details here, Narok}. After the end of that fight, Narok continued onto his destination, and droped down from the shadows above Odomagon, stabbing the demon in his large eye.

Just then Mercia launched himself into the air unleashing a flurry of blows into the demon's face. Each blow, sent a shock-wave ripple of flesh and blood across the face, while Narok held on with his weapon stabbed into the demon's eye. With his final blow, Mercia sent his fist deep into Odomagon's remaining good eye, sending powerful energies right into the brain of the demon. The Odomagon, the Destroyer, was himself destroyed by mere mortals. Balor's fury could be heard from deep within the pit.

In the aftermath of the battle, all of the various clan leaders of the Samurai clans showed up. {Details, please!.. how? why? what did they want?}.

Hyate was with them and she had with her a red fox. She explained to us that when Zarkavon cast the "mass resurrection" spell for the first time, during the fight with Drassus, The Black Dragon, the fox tail that Fox carried with her for luck, was restored fully into a living animal. The fox had been in Hayate's care since that day. Hyate presented the fox to Narok who accepted him. The party agreed to name the fox, "Hound".

{some story stuff here with the samurai and the Elans.. something about a Scorpion-bride.. details, please!}

{more story stuff followed, relating about where we were to go, and the initial getting back to the Bloody Violet… details, please!}

[party somehow got back to the Bloody Violet]

Back aboard the Bloody Violet, the party further agreed to Captain William Grave's terms: kill all of the captains of the League of Flags and, in particular, retrieve their captain's cap-feathers, as he who possesses them all would be Pirate King, where Grave once was and believed that he should be again, even in death. In exchange, Grave would retrieve for them, or at least help them get, the jewel of Urahn-Duhn which is now in the hands of the sea creature-king, Harkindus. Oliver demanded that the Bloody Violet be put under his command, which Grave agreed to, telling his undead crew to take orders from his son. Grave then told them where they could find the first of the captains.

[2 weeks of sailing to ….. {where exactly?}]

While sailing, Zarkavon used magical teleportation to retrieve his undead skeleton T-Rex and zombie Digester from the Lost City and now kept them on board the Bloody Violet.

Zarkavon also managed to figure out that the magic lamp that was found on the Red Hand ninja contains an evil genie that would most likely be uncontrollable.

{I don't have any notes about this part, so please re-write completely, if you wish}. The party arrived in the port of _. They entered a tavern and found the captain and her crew that they were looking for. Oliver challenged her to a game of "Sevens and Elevens". Part way through the game, however, Oliver stabbed his dagger right through her hand, pinning it to the table, and accused her of cheating. Her crew came to her aid, but upon proving the cheating, and using his own impressive charisma, Oliver managed to turn her crew against their captain and, moreso, wanting her blood. The whole tavern exits like a mob, leaving only Zarkavon behind, oblivious to all that just happened as he was intent on a game of Tic-Tac-Toe between himself and his very clever rat familiar, Rigormortis.

{Someone detail this: something is done with that captain and we manage to get her ship and we also learn the location of the next captain, Captain Hardaga. Also, William Grave somehow captains her ship, but what does he use as a crew: her crew?}

[Sailing, but takes no time at all??]

The party chased down the Slaver under the command of Captain Hardaga. Upon being sighted, the Slaver turned to attack. Opening up its gun ports, it intended to strafe the Bloody Violet. Before it could fire, however, Oliver used his elemental abilities infused from the death of the Water Geomancer, to create a wall of water that tilted up one side of the Slaver, making it impossible for her to fire. Nine of her crew were sent into the sea. Six others, along with Hardaga, managed to swing over to board the Bloody Violet, while Zarkavon gestured intently at the Slaver, sprinkling powdered black pearl into the air, and intoned "Ark-Doom!" Five more on the Slaver dropped dead instantly, leaving only one remaining aboard.

A few seconds later, nearly all of the boarding crew were killed and Hardaga was surrounded. Zarkavon held out a small crystal sphere, pointing through it towards the men desperately swimming at the surface near the Slaver. "Froth-Krak!" he chanted, and an icy blue beam shot forth, freezing one man to death and entrapping the others and the Slaver itself in a sheet of ice on the surface of the water, six inches deep. A few seconds after that and the fight, and Hardaga's feather, was theirs.

Zarkavon then proceeded to transform the bodies of the Slaver's fallen crew into zombies and moved them, along with his other undead to the Slaver. Heather Black joined him and with her to captain the ship, he was able to direct the animated undead to act as the crew.

[two more weeks of sailing, looking for the other captains]

While sailing around the seas, looking for the other members of the League of Flags, Zarkavon managed to unlock more secrestes from the Book of Reflections. He was now able to transform an ordinary mirror into into a sort-of scrying device: one that can peer into a known location through any mirror that exists in that location, but the viewing is both ways, allowing the mirrors to act as a form of visual and audial communication.

The party decided to use this ability to contact Godwyn. They felt that they needed more information about his abilities and activities and needed to know what he knew and didn't know about them. This was a desperate gamble with too much risk with too little to gain, but these heroes being who they were weren't about to shy away from a chance to turn the tables and taunt their hated enemy.

Godwyn was less surprised and less impressed to see them than they had hoped and they exchanged a series of biting remarks and posturing phrases. Behind him was his Mirror, The Mirror that Zarkavon desperately wanted to fulfill what he felt must be his destiny. Knowing that he must one day get the Mirror, Zarkavon indicated to Godwyn that the Mirror belonged to him, and soon he would come to get it. Godwyn responded that the heroes would be nothing once he is finished with the Mirror. Most satisfying to the heroes, however, was the horified look of disbelief on Godwyn's face when they revealed that they had killed his master's top demon, Odomagon.

Very surprising to the heroes in all of this, almost comical even, was that they could see a large green figure tip toe-ing behind Godwyn. It was Garog! He started to move Godwyn's Mirror out their view. Godwyn glanced behind him once, but Garog ducked behind the Mirror and Godwyn saw nothing, and was too focussed and outraged at the party to notice anything else. Garog's arms spread out from behind the Mirror, lifting it up and he quiety finished moving the Mirror out of view.

Godwyn violently ended the communication by shattering the mirror on his end.

As the heroes looked behind them, there was Godwyn's Mirror, and out from behind it stepped a rather satisfied looking Garog. The party thanked Garog. {Anyone remember any cool dialogue that we can record here?}. Narok asked Garog if there is a way that they could reach him if they desperately needed his help. In response, Garog gave each party member a "green gemstone ring" that they could use to summon him at need.

Before Garog departed, Zarkavon gave the magic lamp with the evil genie to Garog to see if he could "pacify the resident", to which Garog replied "I know this one. I'll take care of him".

Eventually, the three ships found the ships of two more League captains. They were holed up in between mountan-like rock formations jutting out of the ocean. Oliver managed to navigate the Bloody Violet in between the rocks, but Heather Black could not get the Slaver through (it likely did not help that her crew consisted of mindless zombies). {What about the ship being controlled by William Grave?}. While the ships were still many hundreds of feet away, Zarkavon stopped giving direction to the useless zombies and instead held his arms wide towards the enemy ships. A dark cloud formed over one of the ships and, as Zarkavon's chanting grew louder, large icy hailstones and globs of red hot lava poured down out of the cloud onto the ship, causing heavy damage and heavy casualties, killing most of the crew.

While the Slaver held back, the Bloody Violet approached and sailed between the two enemy ships. Narok raised a shadowy crurtain between their ship and the one that had just been pounded by the storm of fire and ice, just as Ro mightily leaped over fifty feet on to the deck of the burning ship. The captain surrendered to Ro almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Oliver parlayed with captain of the other ship who appeared to be a reasonable, or very scared, human. Oliver convinced him to surrender his feather without bloodshed, and he knowingly submitted to the rule of the would-be pirate king, William Grave.

The first captain to surrender, however, had other ideas. She wandered below deck, with Ro following closely behind, but then she suddenly ducked into a room and locks the door. Ro was quick to break the door down, but not before she lit a fuse attached the many barrels of black powder stored there. The resulting explosion sent debris, flame, and smoke high into the sky, along with one flailing Ro. Due in no small part to the raw power possessed by his race, the Elan, he was able to survive, crasing while in flames into the sail of the Bloody Violet, burning it somewhat before the crew was able to put out the fires.

With his constantly glowing-blue eyes, Zarkavon immediately noticed a peculiar piece of debris in the water that landed near the slaver. Using his hand of the mage, he retrieved the amazingly light and, in fact, floating item: a staff! Carved into the staff is the word "NEMUS". {It is the "Staff of Nemus"}

The explosion so echoed through the mountainous formations that the sound rocked the seas. At this time, to the sheer horror of everyone present, a monstrously colossal being rose up from the sea to tower so high as though it were the sky itself. It appeared almost like a worm or a snake or an eel, but none could be quite certain. It's form was so huge that it was impossible to see it whole. Evil unlike anything that could be imagined emanated from this being, more than any godly presence ever dreamt of could compare. "WHO HAS AWAKENED ME?" it mouthed, its voice echoing as though from the void that existed before Creation.

{DETAILS, Please .. I can't remember the imprtant things that were exchanged at this time}

Zarkavon cowered, his zombies huddled around him, offering little to his sense safety. When this primeval being addressed them, Zarkavon's only response was to meekly call out, "Go away!".

Satisfied that the time was not yet right for the world to be destroyed, this being, the Leviathan, resubmerged into the abyssal depths. It was clear, however, that things were close to a tipping point and that the actions of those present could be the deciding factor as to whether this nightmarish creature brings and end to everything.

Shaken to their very core, it took some time for everyone to gather their wits about them. Quick to adapt or to ignore however, these heroes, these madmen, these selfish figures who may well decide the fate of all, continued on about their business as though nothing had happened, and did not speak of it.

They set sail for the wide seas, fighting off dire sharks and dragon turtles. They had more to do before they could have the means to destroy the Swords of Hacathra. The first thing would be to get the last of the feathers to restore the pirate throne to a vengeful ghost, and for that they would need to find the last pirate in the League of Flags: Captain Flud.

Party meets at wharf to rebuild/outfit Oliver's ship, the mysteriously resurfaced Bloody Violet, once belonging to Oliver's now dead father, Captain William Grave.

At the docks, encounter one Captain Hardaga of the Slaver. Hardaga is a pirate and a member of the League of Flags.

Also meet Heather Black, a pirate being publicly abused and thrown out by Hardaga. {Oliver steps in to aid her}

Aboard the Bloody Violet, we are met by the apparition of Captain William Grave. He wants us to hunt down and kill all of the captains of the League of Flags. In exchange, he will help us get the Jewel of Uran-Duhn from the {king of some underwater race?}. We reluctantly agree.

Journey…We set sail for Sho-shu so that some of the party can train with the samurai.

Akindus, the gold dragon, helps Zarkavon unlock the use of 3rd and 4th level spells from the Book of Daemiluz

Zarkavon spends some time studying in the Sho-shu libraries.

All of the party trained with a female samurai, Po, and all but Zarkavon succeeded in snatching a lock of her hair {gaining significant permanent ability boosts}; {Zarkavon's attempt amounted to trying but failing to possess her via Magic Jar}

While in Sho-shu, other samurai masters from other islands convene/descend upon our samurai ally, Emperor Yoshiro, to threaten him with "consequences" if he continues to endanger the lands by associating with "gaijin". The reality is that without the common threat of the Blue Dragon, the various Sho-shu nations are seeking dominion over one another.

Zarkavon almost sends disease with them on their boats, but is dissuaded by the gold dragon, Akindus. At this point, Akindus demands that the party leave Sho-shu, but takes them where he feels we must go: into the mountains, to the Elan Cult of the Wise.

[flight to mountains]

In the mountains, one of the Elan, an old wizened sage, answers our questions:

The Red Ruby of Urah-Duhn is in the possession of King Harakinus, who rules the abyssal depths of the ocean.

The Elan sages also tell us how to destroy the Swords of Hacathra and where to find the Church of Hacathra.

Included among their membership is, surprisingly, The Summoner – the one who pitted us against many trials when we went to the tomb of the Great Kalif to retrieve the Book that would allows us to defeat the Geomancers.

The Elan know that we carry someone special. Narok removes the remains of Mercia from his bag of holding. The Elan perform an intricate ritual and restore Mercia to life. Another shock: Mercia takes his place among them—we now know why Mercia is so long lived to have been alive during the Hath wars: he's an Elan!

At night, we are attacked by a Red Hand ninja (the Red Hands are closely associated with the Green Snake clan). The ninja kills the wizened sage before we learn everything we need to know {what info did we miss, exactly?}.

On the ninja's body were:

a message indicating that the Red Hand had been hired by, the now infamous, "V"

magic lamp [?], magic staff [?], and Boots of Silence

Ro's memories are further unlocked when we visit an egg-shaped mountainous cavern, where the Elans are created ("The Egg"?). He discovers that he is actually "Angorad", one of the Heroes of the Hath Wars.

A portal opens up in the Egg, out of which came a towering death-knight-like figure, Balor! ... and a zombified Fox! Fox's lips are sewn shut and she is animated and controlled by Balor. The Fox-zombie attacks!

After defeating the Blue Dragon, the Geomancers, and Fenuku, the heroes are celebrated in the City of Zakhara. Attending are those such as the Naghi tribe, the Al'Badia tribe, Princess Keesha, Braltus (lord of the Leonals), and Jeriah the jungle giant.

Braltus marks each of us with CEREMONIAL CLAW MARKS. These marks, among the animal kingdom, inspires respect and grants a mild rapport with nature (similar to a ranger's empathy)

Each party member is given: a DRUIDIC AMULET. Will allow us to have an audiance with the Forest Spirit.

Heroes are celebrated as the "HEROES OF ZAKHARA"

The panther-riding warrior of the Naghi, Kalia, joins us.

We are reunited with the baby griffin that we released weeks ago, now all grown up. [I can't remember exactly how/where we got the griffin? I believe we released it in Caterosto, just after killing the Archer, correct?]

{Zarkavon, with the help from the Al'Badia, obtains several scrolls to cast the following Permanent spells upon himself: Arcane Sight and Tongues; also obtains a Greater Arcane Sight scroll}

Meet Alfahda Fedun, the leader (grand-chief?) of ALL Al'Badia tribres.

Zarkavon manages to dispel Narok's Nacith-Curse but the strain of if kills Narok, who vomits out all of the poison that has been long-infesting his body. Zarkavon uses his new knowledge to bring Narok back from the dead, but then Zarkavon has an encounter with Death himself who warns Zarkavon to stop "interfering".

The Nacith-Curse has been lifted (or at least, it is no longer in danger of killing Narok), but the strange spider-like abilities that manifested in Narok and Zarkavon (and also the missing Fox) still remain.

Zarkavon has an addiction relapse and gets high on "Vodare". Narok also gets stoned on his own thing. Valens shows up, berating them.

In the lair proper, party is confronted by Garog who is answering to a new master of his lamp: a living Daemiluz! Only Daemiluz' image is present. Garog was tricked by Daemiluz who was disguised as Zarkavon promissing to bring back his wife, whose body is also present in the lair.

Before Daemiluz can make a wish, Zarkavon manages to teleport the party the extreme distance to Daemiluz' true location just for a second before being yanked back violently: just enough time for the party to grab Garog's lamp and some random other stuff from Daemiluz' "lab". {Included in these items was a Letter From V to Daemiluz }

Narok uses the lamp to wish Garog free forever.

In exchange for Zarkavon's promise to raise his wife, Garog gives us each a fully charged Ring of Three Wishes and agrees to help Zarkavon retrieve Godwyn's mirror.

Zarkavon uses a "Cheat" spell and a Wish that the Cheat is wholly undetectable. Zarkavon then resurrects Garog's wife (the desert queen).

Immediately, Death confronts the party. Zarkavon challenges Death to a game of bone toss, counting on his "Cheat" to help him win, but it takes all of the wishes in all of the Rings of Wishes to beat Death. Death spares the party and grants Zarkavon a copy of his Scythe, but warns him not to test his patience further.

Retrieved much treasure from the Blue Dragon's lair {which we plan to use to enhance the Bloody Violet}.

{Zarkavon also retrieved a peculiar scroll from the treasure hoard: the writing describes in detail how to reverse or invert any magical item and its property; Zarkavon still has to figure it all out}

.... journey back to Zakhara (teleport?)...

Party spends the night in Zakhara where they are rejoined by Oliver and Princess Keesha.

... back to desert …(teleport?) .. in order to carve up the Blue Dragon's corpse.

Waiting where the dragon's corpse was are two drow figures (male & female). There is a civil war among the drow and it is the party's actions that are responsible. They've come to kill us, particularly they want to kill (or capture for leverage?) Narok.

The dragon's corpose is now an undead creature animated by the drow priestess.

The party wins the fight and the destroyed undead dragon scratches out, with its skeletal hand "CHROMIUS", which triggers the image of the metal sheen that Zarkavon experienced when he ate the brain of the Black Dragon.

Party spends next two weeks busying themselves in Zakhara; {Zarkavon studies new spells, makes some items}

On dying, Kadrax utters in some archaic version of Draconic, "THRIC VIVEX…" {what was the rest of it?}. Using the Book of Dragon, we manage to translate it: {what was the translation.. Elan?}

Zarkavon, seeking to take advantage of the remaining invulnerability that the party is currently enjoying, teleports all but Mahir to the Kalif's throne room, hoping to get Fenuku, but instead are faced with all four Geomancers and a bunch of mummies.

.....

.... Book (of Nature?) is used to get the four Geomancers to battle each other in a sphere outside space and time, destroying each other.

The party is infused with elemental powers as a result of this unleashing of primeval forces.

Zarkavon teleports back and grabs Oliver and Letia, teleporting back to Huzuz; Phena does not come, and both the digester zombie and the T-Rex skeleton get left behind in the Lost City.

{Zarkavon spends one day studying the Book of Daemiluz}

Thezal attacks and has Sindara's oyster; he pins Zarkavon and frees Garog from the Ring. Garog frees Sindara from the oyster, ... big battle with party… Garog kills Sindara during the fight. Garog and Thezal disappear.

Zarkavon teleports the party to the place in the desert with Garog's wife, the desert Queen.

Zarkavon, using the Book of Reflection, enslaves Thezal to Garog's lamp, freeing Garog.

Garog crushes the lamp.

Garog's wife, whose life essence was cursed to be linked to Thezal, dies. Garog laments: "Some people just don't get what they wish for."

Zarkavon offers to bring her back for a price: Godwyn's mirror (to travel through space-time) and a new (fully charged) Ring of Three Wishes. Garog says that he will consider it and walks off with his wife in his arms into the sunset.

The queen's palace was a mirage, and is no longer: just surface ruins.

Zarkavon uses teleportation to return and retrieve the NPCs

Night comes to the ruins and so does a thunderstorm.

Zarkavon's star chart, in the Book of Dragon, shows one of the stars moving in the Horns of the Five constellation.

Zarkavon nervously casts a thick fog around them.

Centaurs show up and flee with us.

FIGHT WITH THE BLUE DRAGON ("KADRAX")

Ro uses staff (from the Mummy crypt) to turn the desert into quicksand.

Journey to Caterosto(?) [Continued]

Journey…

Arrive in a coastal city…

Oliver and Narko depart from the coast to sell the treasure we carried out of the Mummy crypt.

While the rest are in the town, Garog shows up seeking the death of Sindara, the personal genie carried by the Zakharan princess who fled the geomancers with us, and now the last genie alive besides Garog and Thezal.

To try to protect Sindara, we put her into the Oyster given to us by the desert Queen.

Zarkavon uses his last Wish in his Ring of Three Wishes to imprison Garog in the Ring.

During the fight, we lose the Oyster with Sindara in the waters of the sea (amongst all the oysters that the locals harvest).

{Zarkavon makes a sketch of the well-studied beach.}

Journey…

Made it to the swamp of Caterosto: Zarkavon, Ro, Fox, Hayate, the princess

fight with "digesters"; zarkavon animates two of them

attacked by the Archer bounty hunter, but manage to kill him

Zarkavon eats part of his brain, using Absorb Mind.

Between that and the use of the Archer's crystal communicator, find out who the Hunter member of the clan is: the girl we saved from the Yakaria and who is with Narok and Oliver

Through the communicator, we show the Hunter the head of the dead Archer, threatening her with "You're next!".

Black Libraries

Found the Black Libraries; research yielded the following knowledge:

The Swords of Hacathra must be brought to First Church of Hacathra to be destroyed; church location known only to the Elan Cult of the Wise

Horns of the Five => constellation (location of five dragons)

Zarkavon obtains the "Book of Dragon": contains locations, names, associations, sotires, and powers of all five dragons (star map in book changes if the dragons move)

The Red Room of Llyr: contains the "defence" vs Hacathra; also is home to The Red Dragon. A key unlocks the door: the jewel of Uran-dun (the jewel missing from the Dagger of Uran-dun) must be placed into the "keyhole" and if is breathed upon by dragon fire, the location of the ore is revealed. The Ore must be used to forge the Counter-weapons to Hacathra.

The Red Room is located deep deep beneath Llyr: in Underdark-like caverns and which connect to the rest of the Underdark and also to the Llyr dungeons.

Something to do with the ore?: need to talk to Ashara in order to contact the forest spirit, "The Father of the Forest"

Geomancers were once human; book to remove geomancer power is missing: last looked at by the Kalif's great-grandfather, centuries ago.

Map and Location of The Great-Kalif's tomb

The tomb is guarded by the Leonal: humanoid lions who stood up against the gemonacers centuries ago.

Zarkavon acquires a painting of the twon that Narok and Oliver are headed to.

Found Daemiluz' name written in one of the library's logs. The date was after his presumed death, when Zarkavon killed him. He was in the Black Libraries researching Llyr.

One of the women frequenting the Libraries, Hellera, told Zarkavon that Daemiluz has a twin brother, "Draeth".

Many in the Libraries are treating Zarkavon with undue respect and then he discovers the name "Novakraz" written on the tombstone that acts as one of the entrances to the libraries. Zarkavon is somehow the founder of the Libraries (time travel? .. perhaps using Godwyn's mirror?).

Find, somewhat-wrecked, at a port in Scho-shu: the abandoned Bloody Violet

Inoto's warriors are about to attack Yoshiro's stronghold

Party helps Yoshiro be victorious over his enemy

Party travels for several days

LEVEL ADVANCEMENT: 7 -> 8

Arrive at an island with the dragon's (Drassus') armies of orcs and minotaurs

Battle with Drassus.

.....(I think this is where we all, but Zarkavon, died before Zarkavon did his first "mass resurrection" by reading the tattoo on the back of his skull)

During the fight, Hasten's dragon (the deep dragon) is killed and it, along with Hasten and the two zombie minotaurs Zarkavon had animated all fall to their doom.

.......

... (At the end of this fight, did we all die again for the second time? I know that this is where we were tortured in Hell)

....

LEVEL ADVANCEMENT: 8 -> 9

....

After being released from Hell, all fall unconscious and all wake up a week later, still on the Island of Sho-Shu (beside Zakhara in the Ruined Kingdoms)

Yoshiro and his clerics heal the party.

{Zarkavon acquires a large variety of black onyx gems from Yoshiro, storing them in his bag of holding. Intended to be used for Animate Dead. Also, for other spells: 12×100gp pearls, and 12×10gp small eye agates}

A week is spent training in Yoshiro's castle. Most of the party trains martially, while Zarkavon takes advantage of the Sho-Shu library and engages is a few other activities…

Zarkavon and a contingent of Yoshiro's men head out to the site of Drassu's corpse and take from the body (all preserved and most is magically turned into small cloth, made permanent by Akindus, the gold dragon):

both eyes; 6 teeth; heart; 2 talons; chunk of liver;

5 oz of bloody brain;

4 vials of blood;

4 shanks of meat (cooked into Jerky) {Drassus had Str 29};

enough scales for one armour/shield

skin for the drum !

Valens is found

Zarkavon eats some of Drassus' brain, using Absorb Mind and learns:

Drassus is the Pit Fiend's pet

glimpse of a very shiny almost silvery metallic surface invokes a feeling of great discomfort